


Fifteen Steps

by easyluckyfree45



Series: Riverdale Bingo Summer 2020 [1]
Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Divorce, Established Relationship, F/M, Hopeful Ending, literally so much angst so if that's not your thing this is not for you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:02:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25497268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easyluckyfree45/pseuds/easyluckyfree45
Summary: She wishes she could keep him forever, encased in a glass vial in her heart, but it was never meant to be for them. He is not her prince. She is not his princess. This is not a fairytale.Maybe in another lifetime, they could’ve made this work. They wouldn’t get married at 18 like fools in love. They wouldn’t have let the physical separation get to them. They wouldn’t have let his newfound fame and travel demands from his successful publication ruin them.A part of her hopes that in their next life, they would come back as better, stronger people that could live out a love story that is worthy of them. She knows in every lifetime, Betty Cooper will love Jughead Jones.Riverdale Bingo Summer 2020 - Divorce
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Series: Riverdale Bingo Summer 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1847086
Comments: 19
Kudos: 72
Collections: 8th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees, Riverdale Bingo, Riverdale Bingo Summer 2020





	Fifteen Steps

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn’t stop myself. I blame Taylor Swift and Bon Iver for writing this stunningly gorgeous song. 
> 
> Thank you, as always, to Jana ([latenightcoffeetalks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/latenightcoffeetalks/pseuds/latenightcoffeetalks)), my wonderful beta and friend for looking over this!
> 
> Written for Riverdale Bingo. Prompt: Divorce

_So step right out, there is no amount_  
_Of crying I can do for you all this time_  
_We always walked a very thin line_  
_You didn't even hear me out (You didn't even hear me out)_  
_You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)_  
_I never learned to read your mind (Never learned to read my mind)_  
_I couldn't turn things around (You never turned things around)_  
_'Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)_

_“Exile” by Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver_

**Him**

He never thought they’d be here.

He always believed that when he married her, they would be together forever. She would be the one that stuck.

And, yet, here they were. It’s a rainy Thursday afternoon. The law office of McCoy & Sterne is housed in a drab gray concrete building in downtown Riverdale. Jughead Jones ascends the stairs, each step heavier than the last. By the time he hits the last step before the entrance, his feet feel encased in lead, shackled by disappointment and regret.

He pushes through the revolving glass door and is blasted by the cool air-conditioning and the scent of lemon disinfectant.

This place is sterile. There is no life. He never wanted to be here.

When he arrives at the office of Sierra McCoy, he’s not surprised that Betty is already there. Of course, she is. She’s always prompt and early. It’s one of the things that he could always depend upon with her.

And, briefly, he wonders if he took that for granted, amongst other things.

No.

He didn’t want this. This is her fault. She’s the one that wanted this. He is the one that wanted to fight for this marriage and their love. He never wanted to give up.

She’s the one that’s reaching into his pounding chest with her bare hands and clawing out his heart, dropping it on the table that separates them, a battered and bruised tangle of veins and pulsing beats.

This is all her fault. He repeats it to himself as he sits down across from her. He can’t look her in the eye. If he does, he knows he’ll fall into her green depths and he can never crawl back up from that pit.

So, he doesn’t look her in the eye. He does not acknowledge her presence.

Instead, as Sierra begins to speak, handing them both a thick file filled with papers, he stares out the window, watching as the raindrops splatter against the glass, leaving messy streaks.

He doesn’t want to be here.

**Her**

Divorce. It’s a simple word: two syllables, seven letters, and represents the culmination of ten years of a relationship that began so many years ago.

She never thought that she would be 26 and divorced. It seems like something that happens later on in life when she becomes an old, decrepit, and bitter version of herself. That’s what leads to divorce, right?

She’s seen it with her parents, she’s seen it with his parents. It seems like an eventuality and not a possibility.

Betty pushes a stray strand of hair behind her ear, a perfectly polished vision. She adjusts her skirt against the uncomfortable plastic chair and picks an invisible piece of lint off of it. She looks up and flashes a forced but still brilliant smile to everyone in the room.

“Shall we begin?”

**Him**

He looks for cracks in her flawless exterior but there are none.

Perhaps this doesn’t bother her. Perhaps she doesn’t hurt. Perhaps she isn’t feeling the mind-numbing pain that he wakes up with every morning. His newly rented single bedroom in a five-bedroom house is terrible. He can’t sleep. He can’t do anything but feel this way.

No flicker of emotion passes through her porcelain face or her wonderfully vibrant eyes. She’s not hurting like you, he thinks.

It doesn’t hurt for her to breathe. It doesn’t feel like there’s something heavy, a haunting mass, sitting on her chest every time she takes in a breath. It doesn’t feel like each time air passes through her lungs, there’s a glass shard that pierces through the skin, leaving a trail of blood and pain in its wake.

Of course, it’s not like this for her. She’s the one that wanted this.

**Her**

“So, if you both approve these amendments, I can have the final paperwork to you within the week,” Sierra says with a polite smile. She clasps her hands together and sits back against her seat, waiting for a response.

“That would be great, Sierra. Thank you for all your help with this.”

“Of course,” she replies. “Anything I can do to make this a smooth transition.”

It doesn’t feel like they’re talking about divorce. It sounds like a simple transaction.

Maybe it is.

She stares at him for a moment, breaking her cool facade, faltering and giving in. He’s wearing a dark navy blue button down shirt that molds his muscles and black jeans. His hair is disheveled in the most attractive way. She can see the dark circles under his eyes and she knows that he hasn’t been sleeping well. His skin glows brightly. He’s still the most handsome man to ever grace her presence.

She wishes she could keep him forever, encased in a glass vial in her heart, but it was never meant to be for them. He is not her prince. She is not his princess. This is not a fairytale.

Maybe in another lifetime, they could’ve made this work. They wouldn’t get married at 18 like fools in love. They wouldn’t have let the physical separation get to them. They wouldn’t have let his newfound fame and travel demands from his successful publication ruin them.

A part of her hopes that in their next life, they would come back as better, stronger people that could live out a love story that is worthy of them. She knows in every lifetime, Betty Cooper will love Jughead Jones.

In this life, they couldn’t grasp that. It was so close. She felt it graze her fingertips, just barely. But when she reached out to grab it, it disappeared.

Along with him.

**Him**

There are fifteen steps from the entrance of their previously shared apartment to the living room. He counts them, one by one, as he approaches the space that is no longer his to have.

He can feel her behind him. He’s always been able to do this. He’s not sure when he noticed it exactly, maybe about three years into their relationship, he started being able to sense her presence before he even saw her.

It’s like there’s a tether between them that reaches into his heart and ends at her fingertips. She tugs and he must follow.

This is why he’s here.

He doesn’t understand why they need to sign this together, in person. Why couldn’t he sign this, away from her, in his darkened bedroom, with a bottle of whisky in hand?

She leads him to the coffee table and sits down on the couch. There’s a manila file already on the table. Without another thought, she flips it open and starts to separate out the papers.

Numbly, he sits on the far end of the couch and stares into the fireplace, watching the embers sizzle and burn. He’s entranced. He can’t look away.

She clears her throat, bringing his attention back to her. She grabs a pen from the side table and hands it to him.

“You have to sign here and here,” she says softly.

Here and here. A few signatures and their marriage will officially be over. This is how divorce works, right?

He wants to snap the pen in his hand. He doesn’t though.

He moves closer and looks at the papers and then back at the fire. He can’t put pen to paper. He can’t do it.

He gathers the file together and throws it into the fire.

“No.”

She doesn’t move or respond and he’s shocked. She lets him burn their divorce papers. They both stare into the flame for a moment before she sighs.

“Jughead-” she starts but he stops her.

“I don’t want this, Betty.” His voice trembles but he forces himself to speak.

**Her**

Her favorite book is Beloved by Toni Morrison. The first edition signed copy sits prominently on the bookshelf. She stares at the spine, memorizing every letter and crease. It’s well worn because she’s read it countless times.

It’s still her favorite gift that he’s ever gotten for her.

He’s sitting so close yet so far away from her and she needs him closer and further away all at the same time. It’s a jumble of conflicting emotions and she doesn’t know which one is the right one to feel at this moment.

Her soon to be ex-husband is sitting in the home that used to be both of theirs. He fits right in. Of course, he does. This place is just as much his as it is hers.

She remembers arguing with him for 30 minutes standing in the West Elm display space, trying to figure out which couch to get.

They got the one that she wanted, of course. He always bends to her wishes. She’s known this for the entirety of their relationship.

Jughead Jones always lets Betty Cooper win. It will never not be this way.

She’s only slightly surprised when he throws the divorce papers into the fireplace. He’s not letting her win this time.

It feels good.

**Him**

They don’t go back to normal. It’s a new normal, he finally decides after the third awkward week of the purgatory that he’s currently experiencing.

They’re not divorced. But, they’re also not together. Their relationship is in exile.

It’s a strange place and he’s not sure how he feels about it. The ashes of their burnt divorce papers sit at the bottom of her fireplace, slowly crumbling to dust.

She invites him over to dinner one Tuesday evening. They put on the new season of Unsolved Mysteries while they eat to fill the silence.

He’s not really paying attention though. How is he supposed to focus on anything except the steady intake of her breath and the sight of her in a comfortable t-shirt and jeans with her hair piled up in a messy bun atop her head?

It has always been this way. It is the same as when he was 6, 10, 15, and now 26.

She will always be the center that he orbits around, pulling him in with the force of her gravity.

**Her**

She goes to one of his talks. She hasn’t been to one of his lectures in over sixteen months. It feels weird to be here.

They’re at a neighboring university’s auditorium where the English department has invited him to speak about his latest release. He’s introduced by a prominent professor and scholar in the field and when he gets up on stage, he is not anything like the Jughead Jones of the distant past.

He is confident. He is powerful. He is entrancing.

It’s who he is now and the singular feeling that stands out is pride. She is so proud of him. He has come so far.

There are countless pairs of eyes staring at him as he speaks. His speech is smart and witty. She laughs at all the right times and she’s surrounded by a sea of smiles, full of admiration for him.

This is what he’s always wanted. This is what he deserves.

She thinks that she can begin to work towards a compromise that they never discussed before.

**Him**

His tours last a month or four weeks long at most. He always has to return to Riverdale for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.

They call or text every day. He remains responsive to all her messages.

He doesn’t let the tour consume him. He doesn’t become exhausted like before. It’s under his control and not his agent’s. He makes the calls.

These are the guidelines and restrictions that they have set. They don’t go in blind this time. They talk. They compromise.

It works.

The divorce papers remain an ashen pile, a fine dry powder, forgotten, at the bottom of their fireplace.


End file.
